


Elder Scrolls Drabble Collection 2k19

by diamond_sunstorm



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls Online, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Angst, Drabbles, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Other, one shots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2020-07-30 19:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20102323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diamond_sunstorm/pseuds/diamond_sunstorm
Summary: Just a place to collect all the drabbles I have written (2k19)





	1. Ulfric x Luminwe, Heart's Day Celebration

The marketplace was crowded, midday, the busiest time of the day. I didn’t mind the bustling streets, I rather loved seeing how well my city was doing. The lively atmosphere was a refreshing sight and welcome distraction from all the work that expected me back at the palace. Usually, I only came downtown when I had official purchases to make, such as material for forging, but today I had taken a day off to buy something just for me.  
16th of Sun’s Dawn, Heart’s Day. Teens and young adults, at every corner, holding hands, blushing whenever they caught each other staring, sometimes even kissing. That was the date that kept the whole city on track and was especially worthy for the merchants, who earned generous payments by all the couples who wanted to gift their lover a present. I couldn’t blame them, since I came here for the exact same reason.

Ulfric and I rarely have had the opportunity to celebrate, but I wished to change it, so I had spontaneously decided to take a walk to the marketplace in hope of finding something nice to buy for him. The obvious question tormenting me, what could he possibly like? My usual presents, which I didn’t even considered to be, but he had always insisted, were new armor, weapons, or anything else I made by myself. Though I had to admit, giving armor for Heart’s Day was, simply said, not exactly what I had in mind for today.

“Greetings, my Thane,” I was so lost in my thoughts I didn’t even notice I had followed my nose to the first best market stall selling sweets, but I snapped back into reality when the merchant addressed me. “Can I help you with anything? Might want to take a look?”

“Greetings to you as well,” I smiled at the woman behind the stall and took a closer look at the wares that were presented in front of me. There were several variants of pastries, cakes and sweets, obviously fitting today’s theme of love. Facing the hardest decision, to choose which one I would take back home, I scratched my chin, looking back and forth between the many sweets.

“Which one would you recommend?” I politely asked my way out of my inability to decide. 

The merchant immediately pointed at the small heart-shaped pastries in front of her. “Those are very popular today, my Thane. I can guarantee everyone with a sweet tooth would love to receive such a present from their loved one.” 

Ulfric wasn’t one to deny food, but he didn’t necessarily want anything overly sweet, either. I absentmindedly smiled thinking about him. The merchant must’ve noticed, as she couldn’t resist commenting about how Mara really blessed all of Windhelm today.

I laughed it off, coming back to business. “Apologies, but do you perhaps have anything less sugary?” I asked, pointing at the pastries next to the one she had just shown me, assuming they were more fitted for my husband’s taste. “What about those?” 

“A good choice, my Thane. The dough is fluffy outside, but it’s filled with cream, the perfect combination. Would you like a taste?” She handed me a sample from the stall, which I thankfully accepted. 

The pastry in question was indeed like the merchant had described it, so I decided I would buy these. “How much would that be?” I asked once I had finished chewing.

“Three septims, for two.”

I nodded and handed her a 5 gold piece. “Keep the change.” Feeling generous today, I smiled at her, leaving her with a bit more gold than she had expected. She handed me the bag with my purchase and wished me a very blessed day.  
Happy with my choice, I walked around the marketplace, just watching or occasionally being caught in a conversation. After starting to get hungry, I decided it was about time I returned to Ulfric. The farther I came from the marketplace, the less crowded the streets were, but the feeling of love in the air still remained.

Hoping to find Ulfric in his room, I went upstairs. Just as expected, I found him hunched over some paperwork he had to deal with at his desk. He turned around as soon as he heard me closing the door, a smile appearing on his face when he saw me. I walked over to him and leaned against the desk.

“Did you enjoy your day out?” Ulfric asked without putting down his pen.

“Yeah, I did. I even got us something. Thought you might appreciate a break.” I said and rustled with the package, stirring up his curiosity.

“Of course I appreciate a break when it’s coming from you. What do you have there?”

“Food. For Heart’s Day,” I answered his question, handing Ulfric one of the pastries and taking the other for myself. I just thought… We might actually celebrate with something small since we never really had any opportunity to.”

He smiled, “Thank you, then. They’re really tasty.”

Having finished my pastry, I already wanted to leave again, since I was sure Ulfric still had a lot of work to do, but he grabbed my arm before I could even take a step forward.

“You want to leave already? I haven’t even given you my present for today yet.” He stood up and placed his hands on my waist. 

“I thought you were busy?” I asked, laughing because I knew already what he would answer.

“No amount of work could be more important than you.” Ulfric said before leaning down to kiss me. I closed my eyes, leaned myself against him and he wrapped his arms completely around me to keep me close.  
After a few seconds of enjoying our kiss, he pulled away and lovingly watched me. “Is this celebration to your liking?” 

“More than that.” I laughed before snuggling into the fabric of his shirt. “I love you.”

Ulfric brushed over my hair and I knew he was smiling. “I love you, too.”


	2. Ulfric x Luminwe & Lyrika and Severin, A Family Ride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyrika is 10, Severin is 8 in this drabble

The clear sound of Lyrika’s voice echoed from the hallways upstairs. Only a moment later, she and her brother came storming down, both yelling a quick “Hey Mama!” to me as they passed by. Severin had troubles keeping up with his overly energetic sister, but he was equally excited.

Ulfric had promised the two he would take the kids on a ride today. I wished I could’ve accompanied them, but work saw the things a bit different and I couldn’t just postpone my duties that easily. But Lyrika and Severin had been so enthusiastic, I had to let them have their fun without me. There would always be an opportunity another day.

Lyrika and Severin had already disappeared behind the corner when Ulfric came down the stairs, not even trying to run after our kids. I smiled warmly and he took a moment to stay with me, pulling me into a kiss.

“Too bad I can’t come with you today,” I said as we walked hand in hand to the stables, catching up with our children.

“Don’t worry, we will find another day all four of us can enjoy together. Or would anyone try to stop a Jarl from enjoying personal time with his family?”

“Of course not,” I laughed. Reaching the stables, we found Lyrika already done saddling her pony and now helping Severin with his own.

“Papa, quick, you’re already late,” Lyrika tugged at Ulfric’s sleeve, who willingly let her drag him along. Ulfric led out his own horse and began saddling her. Meanwhile I helped Severin to mount his pony, waiting for Ulfric to get ready. Lyrika walked over to her own pony and mounted without any help. She was just at that age when girls want to prove everyone their independence. Proudly watching my daughter, Ulfric came over to me again, putting his hands around my waist and giving me another kiss. “See you again this evening, my dear.”

He already wanted to turn away but I grabbed his arm, “Wait, I’ll give you my scarf. I can’t let you go outside, not when you’re like this. It’s getting colder outside the city. ” I carefully wrapped my wide scarf around his neck. “So, now you’re ready.”  
“Thank you, this is much appreciated.” He adjusted the scarf a bit before mounting his horse and following Lyrika and Severin. I walked besides him until we reached the end of the stables, where they stopped to say farewell to me, who had to stay at the palace all day.

With my family’s goodbye, I watched the three ride down the street to leave Windhelm until I couldn’t see them anymore. Then I turned around to get back to the work that awaited me already.


	3. Ulfric x Luminwe, Departure to Markarth

I walked up and down next to the training yards, where Ulfric was sparing with his soldiers. He was training with them so they were ready to take back Markarth and the Reach from the Reachmen, a task wished from Markarth's Jarl himself, so he told me. Tomorrow, they would leave Windhelm.

While Ulfric was absolutely convinced he was doing the right thing, I was not. Or at least, I thought he shouldn't leave. Not after he just barely escaped imprisonment by the Dominion during the Great War. He hadn't been home for even a year yet, and now he wanted to go, throwing himself at the front to defend what he and many others believed in, willingly putting himself in danger once again. I knew it was just a personality trait he had, this passion about his beliefs, but my stubbornness refused to let him go. Ulfric hadn't listened to any of my former attempts to persuade him to stay, no matter what I said. Today was my last chance to talk him out of his plan, or else I had to wait for yet another unknown amount of time until I saw him again. If he came back at all, which wasn’t a thing he could promise after all.

Waiting for Ulfric to finish his training session, I leaned against the cold stone wall, my hands in my pockets. From time to time I looked over to him, but he was too focused on his training partner to notice me. That lingering feeling of hopelessness started to grow in my chest again. It was highly likely he wouldn't consider my arguments, just like he didn’t all the times before. He was a good fighter, I didn't even doubt that he would fall in battle, but what I feared were the consequences none of us, not even Ulfric, could foresee. 

Especially the stories he had told me about the Thalmor, and how deeply injured he was from the torture he experienced at their hands. I had seen how hard it was for him. And now he basically planned to oppose one of their largest demands, the ban of worshiping Talos. Reinstating exactly this worship in Markarth as a reward for freeing the Reach. That was only requirement he had. As if such a large scale plan wouldn't catch the attention of the Dominion, putting all of Skyrim on the line. I was living a rather sheltered life at the palace, but even I had heard of how those who still dared to openly worship Talos were treated by the Thalmor Justiciars. The last thing I wanted to happen was Ulfric being caught by the Dominion yet again. Who knew if he could return in case he got caught this time again?

I was so caught up in my own thoughts, I hadn't noticed Ulfric until he stood in front of me and I snapped back into reality.

"Do you need anything?" He asked, sounding concerned, he must have noticed me spacing out before.

"I, well," I fidgeted around with my hands searching for the right words. "Please, I know I've said this before, but can you please consider what you're about to do? That you're leaving again?"

He sighed, as I expected he had already lost his patience with my constant worries. "Luminwe, I already told you you can't change my mind on this. Why can't you trust my decision for once? I will return safely, you know that."

"How can you be so sure? I just don't want to lose you, and I know how much you had to deal with after you returned from the war, what if it's worse this time? You don't know what could happen if you–"

"I know what happens if I don't," Ulfric interrupted me. "I can't just sit around doing nothing while others are fighting for their freedom, putting their lives on the line. If I can support them, I absolutely will."

I stared at my feet. He was right about this, he always gave whatever he could to put his homeland before himself, but he didn't even think a moment to consider me in all this. I didn't know if it was selfish, but after all, we did love each other and I didn't want to lose him to something preventable, as I almost had lost him once before.

"Look at me." Ulfric gently placed his hand on my cheek to lift my head, but I didn’t respond, "Can you please explain to me in detail why you want me to stay so badly? Or rather, why you don't want me to help fight for a righteous cause?"

I took a deep breath. He wouldn't like it, but I just had to say it. "You don't even think of me, do you?" I whispered angrily. 

Ulfric looked confused by my short answer and crossed his arms. "What do you mean by that? Of course I do, I wouldn't want you to be unhappy."

"If that's the case, then you're doing a really bad job. You don't listen to what I'm saying, don't consider my feelings in all this, you think it's that easy for me to let you go? I know how you acted the first time you came back, I just don't want you to go through anything similar again, why can't you just accept that?" 

By now my voice has gotten close to yelling. A few soldiers were staring at us from afar but I didn't care. At this point I was to riled up to stop. "And I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been really distressed about you leaving, and judging by the way you act, you have not. That's just cruel. Or why else would you constantly ignore my words and tell me you have already decided for yourself?"

"Exactly. It's not your decision." He cut off my rant, still staying calm, but I knew he was just as frustrated, even if he did not show it openly. "You haven't seen what I have, you haven't experienced it yourself, you can't judge what I decide for my own. Those men, they follow me because they believe in our cause. And if Markarth's Jarl asks me and my soldiers to help him and his people, why should I decline? That would be, from my perspective, the more cruel thing to do. I know what I'm doing, I actually have first-hand experience, while you don't. It's simply nothing you are able to decide, less so for me. Or do you think you know more about what I'm capable of handling than myself?"

His words left me stunned, not being able to think of a way to answer. I just stared at him with a mix of frustration and sadness.

"Luminwe," He reached out his hand but I slapped it away, more out of reflex than planned. After he had just shut me down so harshly he wanted to try the nice, caring way again?

"Don't pretend you care about me."

The realization of what I had said hit me only seconds later, but it was seconds too late.

“I think you should consider your words more carefully, Luminwe." Ulfric turned around and left me standing in the cold, without another word, another chance for me to explain myself. I doubted he would still listen anyway. 

I saw Ulfric returning to his soldiers back in the training yard, looking at me over his shoulder. Our eyes didn’t meet and it felt like someone had pierced my heart with a sword. He was probably already telling them what an annoying, selfish, heartless girlfriend I was. I shivered, the way it felt I knew it wasn't from the cold.

I turned around and ran, not being able to stand the sight of this place anymore. Back at my forge I wanted to distract myself from my thoughts by working, but I was so restless, I just stood there, staring for a good minute not being able to concentrate, before retreating to my room. I hadn't slept in my own room for quite a while, since I usually occupied Ulfric's bed, but after what I had done today, I guessed the last thing he wanted was sharing his bed with me. 

I would spend my night here, it seemed. Alone. Sighing, I let myself fall on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The sun was already setting on the horizon and I could watch my room slowly getting darker and darker. I didn't even bother to take off my clothes before I wrapped myself in my blanket, burying my head under the pillow. 

//

I woke up with a shock, after I nearly rolled off the side of my bed, realizing in the last second it was indeed not as wide as Ulfric's. The next thing I noticed was the sunlight shining into my room. Was it already the next morning? Had I really slept through the whole night? I guessed a good night's sleep was really what I had needed, as I felt more relaxed now.

A moment later I realized what the sunrise meant. Ulfric wanted to depart with his militia just after sunrise. Panic grew within me once again. I didn't want him to leave. Or more correctly, I didn't want him to leave with the last thing I said to him was that he didn't care about me. Especially when the possibility existed that he wouldn't return.

Lucky for me that I was still wearing my clothes, I sprinted outside. If I was quick, I could still make it. As fast as I could I ran through the streets, ignoring that I nearly ran over multiple people, only shouting a quick apology. I had far more important things to take care of than being concerned by such nonsense. 

About ten minutes later I reached the city gates. If Ulfric was still here, he must be at the other side of the bridge leading outside of the city. I stormed past the guards who were already staring at me, putting all my leftover strength into this last bit of the way. 

But there was nobody at the other side. Nobody, except for me, and the workers who went to their workplace just like every morning. My lungs burning, I leaned against the stone wall, sliding on the ground. They were already gone and I was too late. Trying to hold back my tears I could only curse myself.

As there was no reason for me to stay here any longer, I decided it would be best to return to the palace. Pulling my scarf over my face to hide the tears falling from my face, I took my time walking back. My thoughts constantly changed from worried about Ulfric to angry about our argument to thinking of ways to deal with my situation now.

The palace was already bustling this early, servants and workers running around, the guards training or patrolling. Ignoring the friendly greetings of everyone who saw me, I returned to my home, the small apartment over the forge that I used to live in with my parents. I sat in the kitchen of my home, checking my shelves and cupboards for food. After scraping together a loaf of bread and some salted fish I wanted to sit down, but I noticed an envelope on the kitchen table in the corner of my eye. That hadn’t been here before, if I recalled correctly.

Putting down my breakfast, I examined the letter inside the envelope, and immediately noticed Ulfric’s handwriting.

'Dear Luminwe,  
I see you have already fallen asleep, but I didn't want to leave these words unsaid while you are so worried about me.  
I don’t know when you will read this letter, or if you will read it at all, but if you do, please know that I am not angry with you. In fact, maybe I was the one who should have considered his words more carefully, and should have listened to you. I really did not consider your feelings, and I want to apologize for not talking to you earlier. I had expected you to come to me, but did not notice how deeply upset you were.   
I think this is my promise to you that I will return to you no matter what. Please wait for me.  
Until I can hold you in my arms again, I will always think of you.  
With love, forever, Ulfric.'


	4. Kai & Ailín, Tree Adventures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kai and Ailín are 10 years in this drabble

Ailín sat on the lowest branch, looking down at Kai, who was still struggling to get up the tree. While playing near the settlement, the boy had decided it would be fun to climb some trees to enjoy the view on the valley from above. Of course he chose one of the highest trees, at the outskirts of the settlement, being a child who always wanted to prove himself. Kai had attempted to climb the tree at the same place multiple times now, but never managed to get hold of the branch, and just aimlessly jumped up and down.

“Just get over there, and I can pull you up,” Ailín pointed at a rock near the tree where Kai could easily get up on, and crawled towards the end of the branch he sat on.

Kai climbed on said rock, now standing at the top, holding his hand out. Ailín leaned forwards and tightened his legs around the branch to keep himself up. “Take my hand and then you jump. I'll help you.”

Still hesitating from the height that separated him from the ground, Kai reached for Ailín's hand, preparing himself mentally for the jump.

“I'll count to three, and then you jump, okay?” Sharing a glance, Kai nodded.

They counted together and Kai leapt forwards, managing to grab the branch. Ailín pulled him up, laughing, “You did it!”

Kai was still nervous looking down, but he joined his laughter. Ailín crawled backwards to the base of the tree, where they could safely sit and relax for a second.

“Let's get a bit higher, the view should be better then,” Ailín suggested, already starting to climb up on the next branch, while Kai followed him without his help.

Halfway at the top, they decided to halt again and enjoy the view. “Look, we can already see so much further than from the ground,” Kai said, glancing over the valley, “Wait, what are you doing?”

Ailín climbed even higher, not satisfied with their current height, where the branches became dangerously thin, “I just want to have an even better view.” He shouted back down to Kai, who anxiously watched him as the tree began to give in under his weight.

“That doesn't look safe. Please come back here.” He tried to stop Ailín, but he just brushed it off, saying it would be safe.

Ignoring his friend's warning, Ailín stood up, wanting to reach for the next step, but he didn't come so far. The branch Ailín stood on cracked under his weight, throwing off his balance and not being able to keep himself up, he fell backwards.

“Ailín!” Kai screamed, helplessly having to watch as Ailín crashed on the ground, landing in the few bushes that grew under the tree. He climbed down as fast as he could, not caring about scraping his hands as he slid down. He just needed to get to Ailín. 

Jumping down the last meter, Kai ran over to the bushes, shoving the twigs out of the way. Ailín laid curled up on the ground, shivering while desperately trying to breathe. 

“Ailín? Ailín?” Kai shook his friend's shoulder, without response. He began to panic. Now Ailín cried, gasping for air in between his sobs.

“I'll get help,” Kai sprinted back to the settlement, searching for the first adult he could find. Lucky for him, Aleif was sitting in front of his cabin, currently enjoying a lunch break from his work. 

The healer looked up as the young boy came running in his direction, already shouting from the distance. “Help! Ailín fell from the tree he isn't responding I don't know–“

Aleif didn't hesitate to interrupt his lunch. “Where is he?” He asked Kai, who pointed in the general direction of where they had played. Leading the way, Aleif followed him to the tree. 

As they arrived, Aleif kneeled down next to Ailín. Luckily he was breathing normally again, although he was still heavily crying, holding his arms around his chest. 

“Ailín? Can you hear me?” Aleif asked, carefully touching his shoulder. Ailín nodded. “Does it hurt if you move?” He nodded again, sniffling his nose.

“Kai, see if Jona is still at the village, if she is, bring her to my cabin, okay? I'll take care of Ailín.” He told Kai, who immediately ran off to find Ailín's mother. Meanwhile, Aleif carefully picked Ailín up from the ground and carried him back to his cabin where he sat him on the table.

Aleif gently ruffled through Ailín's hair, calming him. “Shhh... Can you tell me what happened?”

He nodded, wiping away his tears. “We climbed that tree and I lost the balance and I fell down.”

“You landed right on your back, didn't you? You're lucky you landed in those bushes and not directly on the ground. Can you move your arms or are your movements restricted in any way?”

“It just hurts.” He said, while Aleif checked how far Ailín could stretch his arms without assistance.

“They shouldn't be broken, but don't strain them too much in the next days. What about breathing? Does that still hurt?”

Ailín shook his head. 

“Well Ailín,” Aleif said with a sigh, “Kyne really watched over you. You could've gotten a lasting injury from that fall.” Despite the scolding, he still kept a friendly tone. “Make sure to only climb on solid branches that support your weight, yes?”

Just as Ailín was about to say something, Jona stormed into the cabin, Kai following her.

“Ailín, what have you done? How could you be so careless?” She asked, not even giving him a moment to tell her what happened.

But before she could continue, Aleif stopped her to explain. “It's okay, he's not severely injured. He fell while playing, but he should be fine in a few days, no need to worry.”

Jona took a deep breath to calm down, “Well, Kai kind of made it seem like he was dying.” Kai nervously hid behind Aleif.

“Can't blame him if the last thing he knew was Ailín not being able to move or breathe. And he did the right thing coming to me for help,” Aleif assured and Kai visibly relaxed, “Do you want some candy?”

As the two boys immediately nodded, he disappeared to the back of his cabin.

Jona gave Ailín a pat on the head and pressed a kiss on his forehead. “Be careful when playing, yes? I don't want you to get any injuries that could have been prevented by just being careful.”

“Yes, mom, I will.” Ailín said, wiping his forehead with his sleeve.

Meanwhile, Aleif returned, giving Kai and Ailín their well deserved candy. Even Jona demanded one as well. “So, if you don't have any other health complaints, you can go outside and play again.”

As soon as he had said that, Ailín jumped down from the table, shouting, “Let's go Kai, we can go to the lake.”

The two adults watched as the two boys hushed outside. Aleif chuckled, “I better keep an eye on them. I don't have much work left to do, so I can make sure Ailín isn't accidentally drowning himself as well.”

“That would be a good idea,” Jona agreed, “I have to go now, or else Anni leaves to hunt without me.”

“Of course, and may Kyne bless your hunt.”


	5. Ondolemar x Mirafire, A Nightly Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pre-Relationship but Mirafire is already has a crush

Understone Keep was almost as dark as the night outside, only the old Dwemer lamps shining down on Mirafire. With everybody asleep, except for the few guards that were on duty, nobody noticed her hushing through the corridors. Trying her best to keep walking despite being horribly exhausted and tired, her whole body was shivering, and her shoulder injury wasn’t making it any better.

Finally reaching the Thalmor Headquarters, she leaned against the heavy door to open it just so much as she could hush through. With the door falling closed, she let out a long sigh as she dragged herself over to the table in the entrance area. 

The headquarters were as dark as the rest of the Keep, and just as empty. In the middle of the night, almost morning, nobody was awake. Mirafire slowly sat down on one of the rather uncomfortable chairs, made out of stone, but better than nothing. A wave of relaxation running through her, she let out a quiet cry. Her legs hurt from walking such a great distance, so did her lungs and her sides. Far worse felt the pain from her shoulder. Just for a moment, she thought as she rested her head on her arms...

“Soldier.” Mirafire flinched at the voice calling her and the hand placed on her back. Immediately lifting her head, she saw Ondolemar standing behind her, a magic light conjured in one hand, a book in the other, looking down at her. She had forgotten he liked to stay up late into the night, and thus not expected him to find her in her current miserable state. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m fine,” She answered weakly, trying to keep her posture, but obviously failing, “I just fell asleep, I guess I–”

He silently watched her, crossing his arms, “Follow me,” Ondolemar ordered her, waiting as she stood up. Without another word, Mirafire complied, but keeping respectful distance between herself and him.

Once he had closed the door to his office, he pointed her to sit down. Mirafire sat down, nervously shifting between looking at her hands and Ondolemar.  
“So, what happened to you?” He asked, sitting down next to her.

Mirafire collected all her strength to speak, “We were on the way back from the usual patrol. From the Talos shrine. But we were ambushed–” Her voice became quiet, barely a whisper, shaking as she tried to continue talking.

“You’re Mirafire, right?”

She nodded.

“So, Mirafire, do you think don’t notice it when a soldier under my command is injured? I need to know how that exactly happened or I can not help you. Your report is not as important as your health, as for the moment. Take off that armor and explain what happened.”

Mirafire was surprised, she wouldn’t have expected such friendliness towards a mere soldier that had just arrived a week ago, or even that he just remembered her name. Nonetheless, she took off her armor, while he patiently listened to her story. 

“Show me. How much does it hurt?” 

“A lot. It didn’t get any better on the way back,” Mirafire admitted, touching the injury on her shoulder, “But it doesn’t bleed as much anymore.”

Moving closer with his chair, Ondolemar pushed her hand away to inspect the injury. “I’m going to use a spell on it, this may hurt at the beginning, but it will stop soon,” he warned her, holding her wrist with one hand while working a healing spell with the other.

Mirafire pressed her lips together so she didn’t cry out from the sudden pain, wanting to pull away her arm but luckily Ondolemar knew he had to hold her arm down. Once he stopped the spell, Mirafire moved her shoulder in disbelief of not feeling any pain anymore, staring at him, who only gave her a slight smile, “Do you feel better?”

“Yes, but... I didn’t know you could use restoration magic.”

“Oh, there are a lot of things you still don’t know about me,” he simply answered, standing up and walking over to his desk.

Mirafire’s ears twitched from embarrassment about her comment. Of course, why should she have assumed any less from her superior.

“Do you want anything to drink?” Ondolemar asked out of sudden.

“Uhm,” she hesitated, as she didn’t want to bother him more than she already had, but also didn’t want to decline his friendly offer, “You don’t have to–”

“I insist, if I must. I don’t want to let you be on your own, not when you’re like this. Besides, you still have a report to make. So why not make this a bit less formal. You need to relax mentally as well.”

Mirafire thought about his offer for a moment before deciding, “If it’s not a problem, I guess. Something not too strong would be fine at the moment.”

Satisfied with her answer, he took a bottle from the drawer, pouring a glass for both of them, then handing one of them to Mirafire. She took the first sip, just something she needed after exhausting herself so much. Meanwhile Ondolemar took out a piece of paper and his quill, mumbling to himself while he noted down the date and time for the report, “Then, let’s start at the beginning, shall we?”


	6. Enthir x Fang Li, Only one bed(roll)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited reupload of [this drabble](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19324090)

Night had already fallen over the mountains when the group of three students, led on by Professor Enthir, arrived at Saarthal. Not a single cloud was at the sky, offering them a beautiful view of Skyrim's night sky and the two moons shining down on them. Yet they could barely appreciate that sight.

"Fuck, why is it so cold," Fang Li grumbled, wrapping her arms tighter around herself to keep off the strong winds that reigned up in the mountains of Winterhold. Adding to her bad luck, the snow storm had gotten worse, and the snowflakes melted from her conjured flame now drenched her clothes. Together with temperatures below zero she was essentially freezing her ass off and couldn't wait to finally reach the warm inside of the ruins, no matter how filthy they were.

Directly next to her Onmund agreed with a nod of his head, shivering just as much as Fang Li, despite his apparent nordic frost resistance, "That's Skyrim for you. I wish I had brought warmer robes, these barely keep off the wind. I can't even feel my feet anymore."

Opposed to the two, J'zargo seemed almost unaffected, even with his fur completely covered with tiny snowflakes that got stuck in his fluffy pelt. His whiskers twitched with amusement as he laughed at Fang Li and Onmund, "Now you two wish you had a fur like J'zargo. But J'zargo can already see the ruins, so we should not walk longer than five minutes." 

Fang Li spied into the darkness, but couldn't even look past a few meters in front of her. But J'zargo's night sight ability proved correct when Professor Enthir turned towards the three students to tell them they were soon to arrive, "This way, it's shorter when we go down here than go around the whole excavation site," he said, his magic light hovering over a small ramp that led down to the excavation site where the ruins of Saarthal lay. "Be careful, it's very slippery."

The ramp let no place for more than one person to go next to each other, so Professor Enthir went first, followed by Fang Li, then Onmund and J'zargo at the end. The wood was frozen but only lightly covered with snow, so the group slowly made their way down, careful to not slip on the ice. But just shortly before they reached the other end, Onmund slipped, pushing Fang Li right into Professor Enthir. 

"Hey, watch out you idiot," she yelled at Onmund, who was already apologizing a hundred times, all while J'zargo was currently losing his shit behind him. 

"Don't start fighting right now, we're almost there, we're all freezing, it was only an accident, Fang Li stop threatening to fry Onmund, " Professor Enthir grabbed her arm and she actually stopped without second thought, only grumbling something about her fellow student being incapable of walking. J'zargo purred amused, and helped a mortified Onmund to get back on his feet.

They managed to reach the ruins without any further crashes and were welcomed by the other students that had left the College earlier with Professor Tolfdir. Together they had built an improvised camp in the entrance hall of the ruins, laying out bedrolls to rest in for the night. Tomorrow they would continue deeper into the ruins, but for tonight they were all exhausted from the long walk, even though they had skipped a huge part of it by using portals to bring them up in the mountains. 

Fang Li, J'zargo and Onmund searched for the three free bedrolls that were reserved for them. They soon found two directly next to each other which Onmund and J’zargo immediately occupied for themselves. Fang Li continued to look around, not without expressing her disdain with the two being faster than her, but it seemed that there was no bedroll left for her. She turned around, confused, but still, every single bedroll was already in use. Determined to find a solution for her problem, she walked over to ask Professor Enthir about it.

"Is there a problem?" he asked, looking up from his backpack, which he was now unpacking.

"No bedroll left," she told him, shrugging her arms, “And I don’t want to sleep on the bare ground.”

“There’s only been this one here, but if you don’t mind to share it..." he offered.

"Oh," she hesitated at first, but then nodded “Fine, I'll take it.”

Enthir chuckled; he hadn’t expected her to actually accept his joking offer, but he wouldn’t back down now as well, “Well, get out of your wet clothes, I’ll be right back, I only have to talk with Tolfdir about tomorrow.”

After Enthir was out of sight, Fang Li stripped herself of her drenched robes and quickly crawled inside the bedroll. It was still cold and she shivered, but it provided at least some warmth. She lurked out of the bedroll, waiting for Enthir to return. He did, after only a minute, and only took of his shirt before joining Fang Li in their bedroll.

"You're really cold," he commented once he was inside, directly touching her. 

"That's the cold, y'know," she snarkily answered and slightly shifted closer to him, when Enthir placed his arm around her, suddenly pulling her in.

"You should try to sleep. If we already have to share a bed," he said, now that she also cuddled against him.

Fang Li shot him an amused glance. "Sleep well then. As much as that's possible in these old-ass ruins."


	7. Ondolemar x Mirafire, An unexpected lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited reupload of [this drabble](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19341208)

The carriage abruptly stopped, waking Mirafire from her half-asleep state. During the long trip she had leant her head against the window, which always made her doze away. Now she quickly fixed her appearance before exiting the carriage after Ondolemar and Elanire, another Thalmor soldier from Markarth. 

Tonight Emissary Elenwen was hosting one of her parties for important Thalmor contacts and Ondolemar, as the head of the Thalmor Justiciars in Skyrim, was among the invited guests, of course. And he had chosen her and Elanire to accompany him, which she didn’t quite understand why he would choose her out of all, but she wouldn’t refuse his orders for sure. Mirafire had only been to the embassy once when she arrived at Solitude from the Summerset Isles, but she immediately was sent to Markarth after a day, so she didn’t have the opportunity to completely experience it yet. Even outside she could hear the cheerful chattering from inside the building, the lights from the windows in the otherwise dark night.

Mirafire’s light green dress only went down to her knees, and barely covered her arms, so she was hoping they would be let inside quickly, as Skyrim’s nights weren’t any warmer than the days. Elanire had lent Mirafire one of her own dresses for the night as she didn't own one herself, and to her luck it perfectly fitted. Ondolemar on the other hand was wearing a formal variant of his usual justiciar robes and she had to admit that he looked indeed very good in it. 

The two followed him up the stairs leading to the entry of the embassy, where the guards wished them a pleasant evening before letting them pass. Once inside, Ondolemar was already greeted by Emissary Elenwen and the two left to chat somewhere else. Elanire had likewise run off to find her friends, so Mirafire stood a bit lost in the entrance until a familiar voice called out her name.

"Mirafire, there you are," Sorewynn, her older brother who was stationed in the embassy as a medic, came over to her and pulled her into a firm hug, "It is good to see you tonight. Did you arrive safely?"

Mirafire nodded as her brother guided her towards the other guests, “I did, thanks for asking. But, I have no idea what you normally do at these parties.”

"Drink, and talk," Sorewynn took two glasses of wine from a bosmeri waitress swiftly hushing around the guests with a tray in her hand, "Here, take this. Just find someone to talk to. I have to go for a while, but if I find the time I will come back to you later."

He pressed the glass into her hand and already ran off through the crowd. Mirafire decided she would wait a bit if an opportunity for a conversation arose, so she found herself a bench in a quiet corner of the hall. She sat down and took the first sip of her wine. It was sweeter than the wine she usually drank back in Markarth, but she had already expected this, as Emissary Elenwen would definitely not have her guests drink any low quality wine. The embassy had expectations to live up to, after all.

Enjoying her drink she spied around the hall trying to find anyone she knew, but she only saw either other Thalmor superiors or Skyrim nobility, neither of which she had any contact to, besides Ondolemar. 

"Hey you, sweetie," an unfamiliar voice suddenly called from behind her. An altmeri Thalmor soldier was leaning over the backrest, a whole bottle of wine in his hand, and judging by the emptiness of said bottle, he must've enjoyed maybe a bit too much alcohol for the night already. 

"Uhm, hi?" Mirafire was confused, she hadn’t expected anyone to come up to her that fast.

Emptying the last sip of wine in his bottle, the guy sat down right next to her, stretching his arms both sides over the backrest, "So, what's a pretty girl like you doing here all alone? Shouldn't you find the company of a nice guy to spend your evening?"

Mirafire stared at him for a second, trying to judge how she should behave around him, "I don't think I need to–" she began but the guy placed his arm around her and pulled her closer, "Excuse me, but–"

"Aww don't be shy, darlin'," he interrupted her, smirking, and slid his hand down her back around her waist, "I'm a really nice guy, you can trust me. I have a room upstairs we could go to later. These parties are pretty boring anyways. I could need the company of a sweet lady like you. I’m sure I can elicit some pleasant sounds out of that pretty mouth of yours." 

"Please, I don't want to," she tried to discreetly shift away, being more polite than she would have wanted to be, but she didn’t want to risk anything, "I need to find my–" she stopped in her sentence. Should she lie and say that she had a date?

Before she could come to a conclusion he already continued monologuing, "Let's be real, you just don't want to admit that you want it. You just need a bit of convincing, am I right? No girl was able to say No after she knew what I could offer her."

Mirafire's face reddened, her hand clenching the glass she was still carrying. She spied around the room for a way to escape the situation without drawing too much attention to her, but she couldn’t think of one, on top of the anxious feeling starting to grow inside her throat. Either she had to quietly endure his harassment, or shove him off, at the risk of him becoming violent. Judging by the way he clearly ignored her before, that was a likely outcome. But she had no choice now, so she put her glass on the table next to the bench, preparing to stand up for herself.

"No. I don't want anything to do with you right now," she said, her voice audibly shaking, and stood up, ripping herself from his strong grip.

As she had expected, he did not react well to that, "You're really testing my patience," he hissed, trapping her against the wall. Mirafire squeezed past him, but he held her back by her arm, "You're not going anywhere, honey."

"Get off me!" she shouted, slapping his arm away. Her rapid motion caused him to let go of his bottle, which then shattered against the ground. The guy that seemed so confident in what he was doing now stared at her in disbelief. Mirafire took the chance to run, fleeing into the crowd.

She felt her heart beating fast inside her chest as she pushed through the other guests, trying to get away from her persecutor. Despite him being heavily drunk, he managed to track her through the crowd, that now started to murmur about the two so rudely shoving their way through them.

Mirafire turned around the next corner, nearly running into someone. This short interruption left enough time for the guy to catch up with her, "Why are you running away? I'm just trying to be friendly," he grabbed her hand, holding her back.

Just as Mirafire was about to answer, the man she nearly ran into turned around. Out of all people she could have run into, it was Ondolemar. She exchanged a panicked look with him, who took a sharp glance at the man, "I would assume she does not want your company, when she is already running away from you," he said, putting a hand on Mirafire’s shoulder, "Besides, she is here as my company, so you have three seconds to explain yourself what you were trying to do with her."

The guy immediately let go of her hand, stuttering an apology. Ondolemar protectively kept his arm around her shoulders.

"I– I just wanted to get to know her, really, Sir, I did not meant to harm her or take her away from you, I–" 

Ondolemar didn't seem satisfied at all by his attempted explanation, "I will have you talk to Emissary Elenwen tomorrow. And I do not want to see you bothering any other women this evening. You will immediately leave the festivities. Have I been clear with my orders?"

"Y-yes Sir, of course," the guy bowed in apology and made a hasty retreat, disappearing into the crowd.

Mirafire slowly looked up from the ground at Ondolemar, "Thank you," she whispered, nervously rubbing her neck.

Ondolemar looked back at her, his arm still resting around her shoulders, “Do you want to go outside for a while? That might calm you down now.” 

Mirafire quickly accepted his suggestion. She wanted nothing more than to get away from all the people that now stared at her, being so close with Ondolemar, and after the incident with the guy not letting go of her. Ondolemar led her on the fastest way outside in the gardens of the Embassy. There were still a few groups of people here and there, but otherwise the two were alone to themselves. 

He quietly stayed by Mirafire’s side as she slowly regained control of her anxiety. He didn’t interrupt her, just made sure they were isolated enough and nobody curious was coming over to see what was going on. After a while she had calmed down as good as she could in the moment, and turned towards Ondolemar, meaning to say something, but not knowing what. He took it as a sign to ask her if she wanted to tell him what had happened earlier.

She sighed, then began explaining, "He tried to flirt with me, and didn't stop when I told him I didn't want to… And he made very inappropriate comments," she made a short pause, "But you didn’t have to lie about me being your company, not for someone like me.”

"I don't mind that I had to,” he took a step forward, reaching out his hand, “In fact, would you like to continue to be in my company for the evening? This party is becoming dreadfully boring, and I wouldn't mind yours," he asked, with less authority than before. 

Mirafire thought about his offer for a moment, then smiled and he took his hand, "Yes, I would like to."

Ondolemar again placed his arm around her shoulders.


	8. Ondolemar x Mirafire, Lover's Sign

Mirafire sat at her desk, leaning over an empty piece of paper. She wanted to write a letter to her brother, as the last one she had written was already a month ago, but she couldn't come up with anything she could tell him about. Tapping her quill against the paper, she sighed before she took the paper and put it back in the drawer of her desk. She would just write it tomorrow, or whenever she found the next opportunity.

Mirafire leaned back on her chair. From the hallway she could hear the others chatting in the main hall. It was late evening, so everyone who still had the energy spent their time playing cards, drinking and just enjoying the free time before they had to get back to work the next morning. 

Deciding to join them, Mirafire stood up and walked out to check who was still sitting in the main hall. Even before she opened the door, she could already hear Niahfael and Aidayon's voices, arguing about Aidayon apparently cheating by enchanting his dice. 

Heads turned towards Mirafire when she opened the door. Elanire, who was playing Guardian Stars, an altmeri card game, with Tiameya, waved at her. 

"So you're finally joining us?" she asked Mirafire as she sat down next to her, "Finished your letter?"

Mirafire shook her head and laughed, "No, I didn't know what to write. I will try again tomorrow. But can I join your game?"

"As soon as we finish our current round," Tiameya answered, "But you can already get your cards, and maybe acquire more players. The game's more fun with more players."

"Sure, I will see if I find someone," Mirafire left for her room, hearing Elanire already asking Niahfael and Aidayon at the other table if they want to join, too.

The room Mirafire shared with four other soldiers besides her was empty. She walked over to her bed and got her card set for Guardian Stars from her bag. Quickly counting her cards, she turned her head when someone opened the door. Ji'arin, one of Mirafire's roommates, wordlessly walked in.

Mirafire took the opportunity to ask her, "Do you want to play cards with us?"

"Your altmeri card game again? Ji'arin still doesn't understand the rules," she shrugged and let herself fall on her bed, "And this one is tired from all the paperwork as well."

"That's okay, I'll find someone else," Mirafire got up, watching Ji'arin pull her blanket over her head, curling up into a ball, "Good night."

Only getting a purring sound from under the blanket, Mirafire closed the door without making a sound. She already wanted to get back to the main hall, when she saw the door to Ondolemar's office slightly standing open, the light shining on the narrow hallway. Mirafire stopped and thought for a moment, before sticking her head into the room. 

Ondolemar was sitting relaxed at his desk, absorbed in a book. He looked up when he heard Mirafire at the door, "Come in," he waited for her to get inside, "Is something the matter?"

"Are you busy right now?", Mirafire shuffled her cards, "Do you want to come play cards with us?"

"Who else is playing?", he asked

"So far it's Elanire, Tiameya and maybe Niahfael and Aidayon. And me."

He took a second to think about her suggestion, then put down his book, "Alright, I think I will join you for a few rounds. I'll come in a minute." 

Mirafire smiled at him before leaving his office again. She went back to the main hall, where Elanire, Tiameya, Niahfael and Aidayon were already sitting at the table, only waiting for Mirafire to return. 

"Nobody else coming?" Elanire asked as Mirafire sat down on the bench.

"Ji'arin didn't want to," Mirafire explained, "but Ondolemar wanted to come in a minute."

Upon hearing about Ondolemar wanting to join them Niahfael snorted, "You really convinced him to come? He never wanted when I asked him. Always busy or something."

"I'm just–," Mirafire wanted to protest but Elanire already shushed Niahfael, "That's because Ondolemar likes her. He's only that friendly with Mira. You know, she does like him a lot, so, you never know."

Mirafire blushed, quickly trying to brush off Elanire's explanation, "It's not that... He would never–“

Just in the moment, Ondolemar entered the main hall, walking over to them. Mirafire made some space on the bench and he sat down, quite close to her. Niahfael escaped a small chuckle before Elanire opened the game.

Guardian Stars was a pretty simple, but popular card game of altmeri origin, with each player having their own deck with a set amount of card types, depicting all of the thirteen star signs, including the serpent. The goal of said game was to win by defeating the other players cards, following certain rules to set up combos of star signs against each other. The whole game was rule-heavy, with many exceptions and special rules depending on the amount of players, that it was only really popular within altmeri society, and to some extent in bosmeri society. 

Each player drew their first card, placing it in front of them. In the following rounds, everyone had to deal one of the cards from their hand, and if possible, attack one of the other players' cards. 

//

"That's unfair," Niahfael shouted as she was repeatedly attacked by Aidayon, leading to her final defeat, "I swear you High Elves keep making rules up just so you can see me lose in this game." The bosmer stood up from the table, walking over to a cupboard in the corner of the hall, "You want anything to drink while I'm getting something?"

Only Aidayon, Elanire and Ondolemar responded with a yes, and so she returned with a bottle each for herself and the three Altmer. Handing them their drink, she sat back on her chair to keep watching the game. Meanwhile, Tiameya had just lost her last cards against Mirafire, Elanire seemed to be losing against Aidayon as well, only Ondolemar having barely lost any cards. 

A few rounds later, Elanire had to assume her defeat, too, "Well, this is going to be interesting," she said, "Aidayon is too good at this game."

"That only seems so, but he's not thinking strategically enough," Ondolemar mentioned, taking a sip of his drink.

Elanire, Tiameya and Niahfael stared at their superior, waiting for him to explain. Aidayon himself laughed, sorting the cards on his hand, "Well, Mirafire has weaker combos, so I'm just going to attack her cards first. I do not intend to lose at my favorite game."

Mirafire nervously laughed, looking at her current cards, comparing which ones she could and should play right now, but she barely had any possibilities. Seemed like Aidayon would actually defeat her the next round. She shook her head and sighed, before she pulled out the Lover's Sign from her cards and placed it next to the other cards. It barely had any effect with her current cards, but it was better than nothing. 

"You're going to lose, Mira, if that's the best you can deal," Aidayon chuckled, eagerly looking at Ondolemar to finish his turn.

"As I said, you're not paying attention, and that will lead to your downfall in the end," Ondolemar pulled out a card from his hand, placing his own Lover's Sign next to Mirafire's.

Elanire escaped a fleeting 'by the gods', and Tiameya only whispered, "Well, that means it's over for Aidayon." 

Mirafire looked at Ondolemar as if she couldn't believe what he had just done. Aidayon had stopped laughing, and now looked like he had just seen the ghost of his ancestor. 

Niahfael stared at the cards, asking a bit lost, "Is this another rule I don't know of? Seriously I don't know what you just did. What does this mean, someone explain it."

"Well, two players are able to combine their Lover's Sign cards they have on their hand," Elanire explained, "and that means they can use each other's cards. So right now it's Aida against Mira and Ondolemar together."

Niahfael's drink nearly fell out of her hand when she heard her explanation, "Hah! Take that, Ai," she laughed about the fate of Aidayon.

"Usually this kind of combo isn't used in the game that often, because it can easily be broken up, but Aidayon is the only one left against the two, so he can't even win this round anymore."

"And that's what I said with thinking strategically," Ondolemar took two of his own card and one from Mirafire, placing them together to take out Aidayon's final combo.

Aidayon threw his cards on the table and crossed his arms, "You– Ugh, I can't believe you two are teaming up against me. Fine, you win." Aidayon threw his cards on the table and crossed his arms, "Also, can someone wake up Mira? I think she's not realizing she also won."

Mirafire was still staring at the cards, shocked from what just happened. Now that everyone turned their attention towards her, she pulled back into reality, "Oh wow..." she mumbled.

"I think you went in too fast for Mira," Elanire said to Ondolemar, who was calmly collecting his cards from the table, "She needs some time to recover from that awesome game round."

"Well, I'm going to excuse myself for the night," Ondolemar finished his drink before leaving the main hall. 

As soon as the door closed, Mirafire let out a deep breath, "I can't believe he really saved me. I think I've never had that happen before."

"As I already told you, Ondolemar just likes our Mira a lot," Elanire patted Mirafire on her back, "It may be just a card game, but come on, you have to admit that was kind of cute, right?"

“No, please don’t make such assumptions I’m–“

But before Mirafire could finish her sentence, Niahfael already snorted, “That was kind of a love confession, is it not? I mean, two lovers? That ought to mean at least something.”

“It really wasn’t, I’m–“

“My father always told me if two mer combine their Lover's signs, that fate has something very special for them in store, so you never know,” Tiameya explained now

Mirafire stood up without responding to her story, storming out of the room. The others watched her leave so suddenly, exchanging weird looks. 

In the hallway, she stopped in front of the closed door of Ondolemar's office. She was debating whether she should actually go inside or just leave again, but before she could decide for herself, the door was opened.

Ondolemar stopped when he noticed Mirafire standing in front of his office, nervously fidgeting with her hands. "Is everything okay? Do you want to talk?" he asked gently.

Mirafire managed a quiet 'yes', so Ondolemar let her inside, placing her on sofa in the back of his office, "Anxiety, isn't it? Do you want some tea?" he asked, handing Mirafire a blanket she could put over her legs.

She agreed to both questions wordlessly. "I'll be right back with you," Ondolemar disappeared, just to return a minute later with a cup of tea he handed to her. Meanwhile she had begun shivering and now thankfully took her drink while Ondolemar sat down next to her.

The next minutes passed in silence, only interrupted by Mirafire slowly drinking her tea. When she finished, she put the cup on the table next to the sofa and leaned back.

"Do you feel better?" Ondolemar finally asked, "Or do you still need a moment?" 

"No, I'm feeling better... I was just feeling overwhelmed."

"It's good that you came directly came to me," Ondolemar carefully placed his hand on hers, "Do you want to stay here longer? I can stay with you if you prefer that." 

"Yes, please stay with me... I just wanted to talk to you about--" Mirafire swallowed once before continuing, "About something personal."

Ondolemar slowly caressed her hand with his thumb, "Take your time, I'm listening to you."

Mirafire looked at her hands in her lap, concentrating on the feeling of his hand on her own, "I just wanted to thank you for... always taking care of me. I'm just so grateful that I don't have to go through all this alone and–" she stopped when her voice started to shake and she could feel tears forming in her eyes, "You're always so considerate with me when I'm like this and when you're with me I feel so happy and I– I never felt like this for anyone, I really love you so much," she sniffed as tears rolled down her face.

"Mira," Ondolemar gently spoke her name and placed his hand on her cheek, wiping away her tears, "I love you, too." 

Mirafire blinked in surprise, but then a huge smile flashed on her face and she placed her hand on Ondolemar's. He pulled her into a hug and Mirafire immediately buried her head in his chest, starting to cry again. 

"Shh, I'm here with you," Ondolemar reassured, keeping his arms tightly around her. He gave her a light kiss on her hair, "I'm here."

"Can you say it again?" 

"I love you."

Mirafire didn’t respond, but she didn’t have to. She just kept her arms tightly around him.

"Mira?" Ondolemar brushed through her hair, "It's getting late and you should go to sleep."

“I just want to stay like this forever,” she mumbled against his chest.

"I know, I know.” he pressed another kiss on her hair, “You know, if you don't want to let me go, you can sleep in my bed with me, if you want to, okay? Just no more crying."


	9. Kai x Ailín, Blessed Hunt

The rain fell through the spare leaves of the trees of late fall, leaving the ground wet and muddy. Ailín sat on a stone, his fur scarf pulled up to cover his face against the cold winds. In the distance he saw Kai approaching, followed by Sonja and Lene.

"There you are," Ailín got up, waiting for them to reach where he stood, then pulled down his scarf and smiled at Kai, "It's not been getting any warmer out here."

"Sorry, I had to convince Lene to actually leave her cabin," Sonja confessed, placing her arm around the shoulder of her partner, "but we're ready to hunt now. Where should we go, down at the other side of the valley? I doubt the traps have caught anything yet, so we can leave them for tomorrow."

Ailín nodded, looking up at the sky, "And we should hurry, because I think we might have a storm this afternoon, and we should get back, unless we want to end up completely drenched. Do you have everything?"

After confirmed that all three had everything they needed with them, they finally could get going. The sky stayed as gray as it was, not clearing up a little bit by the time they reached the other side of the valley. Ailín put his hair back in a ponytail so it wouldn't constantly be blown into his face by the strong winds. 

"So, Sonja and I are going down this way, you two this way," Lene suggested, rubbing her hands together to keep them warm, "Should we meet up later or do we go back to the settlement on our own?"

Ailín thought for a moment, then decided, "We can get back alone, especially in case it starts storming. And if you still find any bird's nests, try to gather some feathers, Helmina needs them for new pillows."

"Got it," Sonja gave him a thumbs up, "And good luck on the hunt, may Kyne be with you."

"Kyne be with you," Kai and Ailín repeated and watched the two women leave on the small trail leading to the evergreen forests.

"Okay, let's get this hunt behind us so we can get home quickly, because it's really cold," Kai turned to walk up the path into the opposite direction, but Ailín grabbed his hand to stop him, "Hm, what is it, Wolf?"

Ailín checked whether Sonja and Lene were out of sight before pulling Kai closer to him, "Can't have us start hunting before we didn't kiss, right?" He laughed and gave Kai a kiss, which he returned immediately after. 

"Of course not," Kai said and took his bow from his back, "Now that I'm blessed by both you and Kyne, I'm sure our hunt will be successful."


	10. Tharn x Niruna; A Cry for Help

The cold of the night mixed with the warm, ashen winds of Davon's Watch when I stepped outside of the Harborage. My whole body yearned for rest, and I would have probably fallen asleep as soon as I lied down on the ground in the ruins, but not while Lyris, Varen, Sai and Tharn were still loudly arguing in the background.

I doubted that they even noticed me leave. I was too exhausted to care. It always ended the same way, I went up in Coldharbour, fetching something or someone for Varen or Lyris, got back and could listen to them making more plans about saving Nirn. Going through all this over and over again took a toll on my mental condition as well, but again I doubted anyone had noticed, let alone cared enough to check on me when I left the Harborage. 

My feet automatically carried me the usual way around the cliffs down to the port of the city, where I'd go to a small, but much frequented Dunmeri cornerclub. Before everything changed, I rarely went to these locations, but now I just wanted to clear my mind, best in someplace nobody paid particular attention to me.

I already heard the voices coming from the cornerclub and I sped up my pace. Finally reaching the door, I went inside, being greeted by loud talking, two musicians playing songs accompanied by obscene drinking song lyrics, and the smell of the best alcoholics Dunmeri culture had brought forward. I scrunched my nose, as some more than just tipsy drunk Dunmer passed me, trying to keep his last bit of balance.

The bartender, an old Dunmer, gave me a look when I came up to the counter. Wordlessly, he handed me a bottle of Sujamma in exchange for my gold, and I went to sit in my usual corner far in the back of the room. He had once asked for my name. After I told him I was 'not who I used to be', he never asked again. I didn't care.

Once I made my way through to my table, I opened the bottle, letting the cap fall on the ground. I took the first sip. Shaking my head, I wondered about my love-hate relationship to this drink. Then I took another. It wasn’t even that bad I decided.

I had no idea how much time passed when I just blankly stared into the embers in the fireplaces. They made me feel warm inside. I yawned and stretched my arms over my head. Suddenly my thoughts trailed back to Tharn and the others. Were they perhaps still arguing? Maybe noticed by now I was gone, and decided it wasn't worth it. I laid down my head on my arms resting on the table, focusing on the voices still around me. It was quieter than when I came in. In fact, suddenly everyone stopped talking and whispered instead. I lifted my head to see what could have caused such a shift in attention.

Tharn strode over to my table, looking at me almost expectantly. I blinked twice. Out of all the people I would have never thought to see him at a Dunmeri Cornerclub. 

"Sit down, don't stand there like you're gonna scold me," I said and moved my chair so he could sit next to me.

"Are you certain you want to stay at this location?" he asked but still sat down, "I would call it not the most private place."

"What do you want privacy for?" I sneered, my eyes hushing over the other guests in the room. They still stared at me like some kind of circus attraction. "Stop staring, s'wits!" I hissed and they all hurried to focus back on their own drinks. Good. I turned towards Tharn, waiting for an answer.

"Because I have to talk. Specifically, about you," he opened the bottle of his own drink.

I squinted at his drink. "Flin? Tharn, your Imperial is showing," I evaded responding.

"It's called having standards." He didn't even flinch at my remark. Impressive. 

"Aha." I leaned back on my chair. My eyes wandered from the counter, to the other tables, to the door. A Dunmer and her Argonian company just entered the Cornerclub, walking over to a table with a bunch of others. I wondered, were they friends? Perhaps. Behind them, I noticed a really nice painting on the wall. Some landscape, a volcano in the background. Unusual decor for a Cornerclub, but– 

"Niruna." I heard Tharn's stern voice in the background, causing me to lose my train of thoughts. "Niruna, you’re not listening."

"You said something?" I asked with honesty, because I surely didn't hear him say anything, "Ugh, sorry, already too much drinking, can't concentrate. Was it important?"

"I suggest we go to a quieter place for this conversation," Tharn shook his head, "And it would do you good to get your alcoholism in hand."

"Don't tell me what to do, I don't care," I smacked my bottle on the table, maybe a bit too loud, as multiple heads turned again at the sound, "Let me have this small bit of distraction, please, Tharn. I fucking hate this all."

"Apologies if you feel hurt, but this is from an objective point of view. Perhaps you should just come outside with me. Or just stay here. You are old enough to make this choice for yourself." With that, he stood up, emptied his drink, and walked towards the door.

I didn't move. Watched the door close behind him. He was right and I hated it. I had in fact, an obvious problem with how I dealt with stress. I knew it, with or without Tharn. 

I ran after him, hearing my chair fall over caused by my sudden exit, but I had to catch him. Deep inside, I really wanted to accept any help I could get, but my personal pride made it hard for me to simply ask for help. Knowing it just didn't make it any less of a problem. 

Out on the street, I looked around if I saw Tharn anywhere. There, at the top of the stairs leading up to the city center I just saw him walk away. Taking two stairs every time, I sprinted after him. "Tharn, wait!" 

He stopped to turn around, so I took up more speed. In my drunk state I must have missed a stair, I stumbled and fell flat on the ground in front of him. Awkwardly I pushed myself up. 

Tharn held out a hand for me. "Slow it down, I'm not running away from you," he said. I hesitated, but grabbed his hand and he pulled me back on my feet. "So you have decided you want to talk, if I interpret you coming after me correctly?"

I wiped the dirt from my hands and knees. Had scraped them when I caught myself unsuccessfully. "Only if we can.." I stopped, biting my lip nervously, "Can we go somewhere private? Just a room's fine, but not out here. Only you and me?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Only you and me? Don't get any wrong ideas, Niruna."

I felt my face heat up. Of course he had to make fun of my phrasing. But before I could reformulate my wish he already continued, "Come. I will take your wish into account. And be careful not to trip again," Tharn went on and I jumped to follow him.

"That was an accident, you know," I mumbled, but he didn't hear it, or decided to ignore what I said. 

I didn't pay attention where exactly we headed, but at one point Tharn slipped his arm around my waist, dragging me towards an extravagant looking building. Before we entered he told me to just act quietly and follow him.

I could do that. Keeping my head low I pressed myself against him. His arm still wrapped closely around me, I had no other choice but to follow him.

As we went inside, I immediately recognized what kind of building it was. The rich equivalent to a normal cornerclub. A few people were sitting in the entrance hall, talking to each other over a few alcoholic drinks. They glanced over when the door opened, but Tharn kept walking, leading me to the staircase behind the entrance area, two floors up and down the hallway. He opened a door at the end of the hallway and shoved me inside.

The room was, humbly said, luxurious enough to appease to a certain standard. One that Tharn definitely had. I stared around the room, taking in all these new impressions. A bed for two, if not three people, a bathroom next to it, and all sorts of expensive furniture. 

"Are you here to judge the decorations?" Tharn came up behind me, "Sit down if you like, and we can talk."

I walked over to the long sofa, letting myself fall on it inelegantly. I leaned my head on the backrest, closing my eyes. I just wanted to fall asleep right on the spot.

Tharn sat down on an armchair. "Do you want to start, or should I?"

I sat upright again. "I honestly forgot what I wanted to talk about. Did I even want to talk about anything?" I confessed laughing, "Give me a minute, please."

I sat in silence, Tharn did, too. My thoughts raced like wild, and I couldn't seem to grab any fixed point. I buried my head in my hands, groaning. This was bound to get embarrassing.

"Niruna," Tharn dragged me from my thoughts for the second time this evening. "Distracting yourself with alcohol is one of the unhealthiest coping methods you could have chosen. Especially if you don't know how to stop."

"But what other options do I have?" I asked, "There's nothing. I don't know. I just don't know. It's not even the alcohol itself. I never had any problems with it, but all out of sudden I constantly lose track of my thoughts, my words, everything. I can even barely remember my home, everything is blurred and I can't put my memories together. Everything from before... when I was there. In Coldharbour. I don't even know how long it has been since I was there. I feel different, Tharn, as if I didn't belong here anymore. It hurts. I’m slowly losing connection to everything that keeps me here and I can’t stop it. I don’t know what else I can do."

A long silence ensued. Suddenly I felt extremely ashamed for talking so openly about my feelings and uttered an apology, but Tharn shushed me, "I suppose that you have never talked to anyone else about this before?"

I just shook my head, "I didn't know who I could talk to."

Tharn folded his hands under his chin, "Do you trust me, then?" 

His question felt strange. "Trust..?"

"I am just asking a question. Do you trust me, Niruna? Do you trust me enough to let me help you?"

"I... You would help me?" I was not entirely convinced about the eventual success his help would bring.

Tharn nodded slowly, "Yes, I would try to help you as much as it's within my own possibilities, if you allow me. You have to accept my help, if you want it."

"Yes, I understand," I said, "And thank you. I wouldn't have thought you were serious about it."

"I am certainly serious and not fooling around like a few certain others," Tharn said and I was sure I saw I slight smile on his face, "And I already know how to help you in the first step. You should sleep now. Either stay here, or I can bring you back to the Harborage if you wish."

This wasn't a decision I had to think about for long, "No, not back to the Harborage, definitely. If you already have this fine location rented, I will use it."

"Good, then, and I suggest you use the bathroom first. You look like you haven't had a bath in a week and it will definitely sober you up."

I snorted. Back to friendly compliments it was. "If you say so, old man. Don't break your back when getting out of your chair." I stood up, looking at Tharn for a moment longer, before I couldn't help but laugh.


	11. Verandis x Yuqi; Come closer

The rain completely caught me by surprise. Not just rain, a storm would describe it better. I had been on my way to Castle Ravenwatch to meet up with Count Verandis, which I now could forget about ever arriving on time. Lost in the middle of Rivenspire's wastelands with no sense of orientation. Back at home in Stormhaven, how ironically that the region carried this name, the weather was pretty much predictable. Neither were the storms deadly dangerous for anyone besides the ships out in the Iliac Bay. In Rivenspire, with its mountains and general high altitude, a cloudless sky could turn into a heavy storm within minutes. 

By now, my shirt was completely drenched and stuck to my skin, cold winds freezing me to my bones. I knew I should have worn my Mages Guild robes. While they weren't much more weatherproof than my usual garments, they provided at least more protection against the wind. The heavy rainfall also soaked the ground, changing to a muddy consistency. My shoes and pants were dirty, and I had a hard time trying not to slip while getting down the path. Or whatever I could still see from it. I had investigated a cave in the mountains east of Crestshade, but to no success. On my way back, the storm broke loose, washing off what was left of the spare paths leading through the mountains. Of course, I heard thunder in the distance as well. 

I leapt down a rock formation, unfortunately miscalculating the wetness of the ground below. Dirty water splashed all over me, leaving mud stains on my clothes. Oh, I hated the weather right now. I shivered, rubbing my hands over my arms. The warmth didn't stay on my arms for long, and the rain just added to the cold feeling. My thoughts trailed off to warm baths, sitting curled up in a blanket in front of a fireplace, reading a book and enjoying my time alone. How much I wished I could be doing all this right now. I spied down the hill, trying to orientate myself. I couldn't even see the next settlement, or at least a house where I could stay until this storm was over. 

I had to evaluate my options. Either keep going, pushing through until I found a safe place and risking getting stuck or injured in a thunderstorm if I didn't, or trying to open a portal to Castle Ravenwatch. I didn't really have any use for portals of my own, I just used the Mages Guild portals if I had to travel between guild halls. Now I noticed how useful short-distance portals were. But overall, I couldn't let Count Verandis wait for me much longer, lest I worried him, so I decided I had to try my best to conjure a portal close enough to the castle. 

Taking a deep breath, I positioned myself, my feet firmly on the ground so I could safely keep my stance. Spell preparation was important, and I definitely didn't want to get lost between two portals just because I poorly executed the spell. Now I had to concentrate on the place I wanted my portal to be connected to. Somewhere in Castle Ravenwatch, a place I had been to already multiple times. The library. Count Verandis' workspace. That should work. I prayed that nobody was in there at the moment to witness my unannounced arrival. Feeling the magicka in my arms, I extended them forwards, concentrating the magicka and letting it flow through my arms to a spot in front of me. The red shine of the magicka grew stronger and stronger. After a few seconds, I slowly stopped the magicka going into the portal and stabilized it one last time. I took a step forward, hesitating for a short moment, before I then leaned into the portal, getting carried away by the magicka.

The flow pulled me in so violently it made my stomach turn. My sight blacked out, even with my eyes opened. This definitely felt different from a professionally conjured portal. The sensation of feeling the rain on my skin stopped and was replaced with sudden warm air. One second later I felt the magicka letting me go and I was dropped out of the portal. Unlike other portals, where I could just walk out, I was thrown out without any control over myself. Hitting the ground pressed the air out of my lungs, and my head smacked against something equally hard. I coughed and pressed my hands on my chest to control my breathing.

"Yuqi!" I heard Adusa call out for me, swift footsteps coming closer, she kneeled beside me, "What is going on? What happened?"

I signaled her with my hand I was okay, but I could only take short, cut-off breaths. My ribs still hurt, as well as my forehead, where I surely would get a bruise later. I felt Adusa carefully putting her hands on my shoulders, "Just keep breathing, ok? Yuqi? Slowly."

I followed her advice as best as I could, but it was less of a rational decision than an instinct. Behind me I heard a door open, Count Verandis' voice asking, "Adusa, what was that–" He cut off when he saw us, I suppose, rushing over.

Adusa took the explanation from me, "She just appeared out of nowhere, slamming into the desk. From a portal, Adusa guesses. Adusa hasn't seen it, but there is no other explanation this one could think of."

"Yes, portal gone wrong," I laughed, flinching at the pain that shot through my chest. 

"Adusa, can you get some of your clean clothes for Yuqi? Bring them to my room, please. I'll take care of her," Verandis ordered, his hand placed lightly on my back. Adusa shuffled to get up and left the room. Verandis turned his attention towards me again. "Can you walk on you own or do you need help?"

"I'm okay," I answered. The pain had become bearable, yet I still felt it enough. Verandis helped me stand up, but the sudden movement didn't do my head any good and I would have fallen over if Verandis hadn't caught me. "Sorry, I'm still a bit dizzy," I apologized, expecting him to let me go, but Verandis kept his arm around me.

"It's alright," he answered and before I knew what was happening, he already swooped me up in his arms, carrying me out of the room. Due to my small height and weight, I knew people loved to just pick me up to carry me around, and I hated it every time. Yet Verandis was so gentle with me, I couldn't help the fluttering feeling in my heart when I leaned my head against his shoulder.

This was the first time I could actually take a look at my surroundings. I had actually landed in Verandis' library, so at least my aim was good for portals. Just the fine mechanics of stabilizing a portal correctly was what I would have to work on if I ever got into a situation like before again. Verandis own room was just one floor upstairs across the library, and Adusa was already waiting for us outside the door. She nodded at Verandis, telling him she had brought clean clothes, before leaving again.

Verandis sat me down on a wooden chair. Seeing the clothes Adusa had left for me made me remember my own clothes were drenched and muddy. I looked at him. "Oh, I'm sorry," I muttered, referring to the stains I had unwillingly left on his own clothes when he carried me. Verandis only smiled and shook his head. At last, it had been his own decision to help me. "And, excuse me for asking, but can I take a bath if it's not too much of a problem? I'd like to get all this mud and dirt out of my hair."

"That's not a problem at all. Come," he responded, taking the clothes and leading the way. I jumped to follow him into the bath. It was definitely suiting someone with the title 'Count', and while it probably didn't rival the baths of a Queen or High King, it was in all dimensions luxury compared to what the Mages Guild buildings offered. The interior included a low bathtub with a shower, a small shelf stacked with soaps and towels next to it, Milk glass windows dimmed the light inside the room. 

I sat down on the edge of the bathtub, opening the straps on my boots, and took them off. Meanwhile, Verandis turned on the water and waited for the tub to fill up. "That's a magic heating enchantment, right?" I asked while I stripped off my jacket and carefully hung it over a chair near me. I definitely had to wash all my clothes later as well. 

"Yes, it has been built by a former head of House Ravenwatch," Verandis said, testing the temperature, "Do you want the water to be only slightly warm or hot?"

"It should be fine," I held my hand under water. For my usual standards already hot enough. "Yes, it's good. Thank you very much." By now I had taken off all my clothing except for my underwear and shorts. I noticed Verandis glancing over at me, and I immediately felt a tug at my heart. His eyes slowly wandered down my body. But before I had the opportunity to mention something, he already turned his head away. 

"I will have dinner ready for you afterwards. Just come to my room once you've finished bathing," Verandis nonchalantly interrupted the silence, standing up abruptly. We exchanged a last glance, although I was sure he looked at me longer than he would have needed. As soon as the door closed, I let out a long sigh, my attention returning to the bathtub. I quickly took off the rest of my clothes before slipping into the warm water.

After I had washed most of the dirt and mud from my hair I leaned towards the shelf with the soaps. It contained a few small bars with varying ingredients. Judging by the colors I grabbed a small, light green soap that smelled like a mix of wildflowers. I didn't know which ones exactly, but it was a rather neutral smell, so I decided it couldn't be so bad.

I took my time finishing my bath, listening to the rain falling on the roof while relaxing my strained muscles. My thoughts trailed back to before, when Verandis had looked at me. Had it just been my imagination or did he really– I banished the thought from my mind. It must have been my own troubled feelings acting up. But secretly, I really wished he would look at me the same way again. 

I had to stop myself before the scenarios in my head merged into a different type of imagination. I climbed out of the bathtub and wrapped myself in a towel. Going through the Adusa's clothes, I picked a few that looked like they could fit my small stature and put them on. Still a bit too large than what I usually preferred, but better than wearing my other, completely drenched clothes. 

A bit lost at how to function the bathtub and drain the water, I decided I would just ask Verandis or Adusa, whoever I saw first. I quietly went outside and hushed down the stairs, back to the library. On the way, I saw Adusa and explained to her that I was done bathing. She assured me she would take care of everything, then sent me to Verandis' workspace. Just before I knocked at the door, I stopped. My heart was beating twice as fast again. I couldn't allow myself to make the situation awkward, so I just opened the door, telling myself to stay as calm as possible.

Verandis appeared from behind a bookshelf. "Has everything worked out? Did you have any problems?" he asked, sitting down on one of the sofas in his reading space. A comfortable little place, with sofas, pillows and blankets, perfect to spend the day reading and studying. 

"Yes, everything was fine," I answered, walking over to him. I saw that he had a meal prepared for me, so I filled myself a bowl of the soup that was standing on the table and sat down next to him. "Ah, just what I needed," I sighed after inhaling the smell, "Heloise made it, right?"

"Yes, she made it. She is one of the few people here who know how to cook. If the not the only one," Verandis answered, "She insisted she could make dinner for you. I think she wants to thank you for giving her a chance." He smiled, showing a hint of his own gratefulness. 

"It's not a big deal, really," I said, chewing on a piece of bread, "But you can't cook? None of you? What are you eating–" While speaking, it already dawned on me. "Sorry, slipped my mind. You're a vampire."

Verandis escaped a chuckle before agreeing, "I understand, don't worry about it. But yes, it's because we're vampires. Heloise has just recently turned, and she has spent her life before as a normal person. Although, she is adjusting well."

"You say that so easily. Normal person. But I can't imagine what being a vampire feels like, or all the things that would change for me. I think I would freak out and have a breakdown," I laughed nervously, holding my hand over my mouth. 

"You would always have a safe place in House Ravenwatch, if it ever came that far. Which I honestly don't hope will be the case for you. It's not something to take lightly."

Verandis' voice sounded sad, but his genuine offer to take care of me warmed my heart. "If I'm allowed to be curious, what is it like? You know, being a vampire. Apart from the blood-drinking part. I just never really learned anything about vampires, except the scary tales we're told as children." I had finished my meal and placed the bowl back on the table, then sat back down next to Verandis, pulling a blanket over my lap.

"Most changes are physical. The obvious parts everyone can see, like becoming pale, our eye color changing, the teeth," he began explaining, gesturing at his face, "But some other things you never notice as someone who is not a vampire. And it may be different for every vampire. Light sensitivity, especially sunlight. We can see better at night, even with spare light sources. On the other hand, this also means we often avoid direct sunlight. With most Vampirism types, exposure to sunlight even means physical pain."

"Can you die from it?" I interrupted, more out of curiosity than being impolite, "Apologies if I'm being ignorant, you don't have to talk about it."

"I can't, no. And I guess it's the myth of vampires immediately perishing in sunlight." Verandis calmly continued to answer my question, not seeming offended, "But it's correct that it is a weakness of ours. Hence, we often stay up at night."

"As often as I am pulling all-nighters with my research projects, I am a vampire, too," I grinned, thinking about how the Mages Guild must be full of vampires, judging how often I encountered other students in the library in the dead of the night, frantically trying to finish writing their reports and essays in time. "What else is different?" I unnoticeably moved closer towards Verandis, adjusting my blanket again.

He thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. "We're resistant against the cold a lot more than normal people. Not as much as Nords, but we rarely feel bothered by it."

"So that explains why the Castle is so cold all the time. I'm always freezing. You don't even notice how cold it is." I instinctively wrapped the blanket around my shoulders. "But is your body also that cold?" I touched his arm, surprised that he actually felt warm. "Oh wow, you're hot." I said out loud, which made him laugh, despite how much I tried to not make this sound like I was flirting. 

"You sound surprised. Again, our body temperature entirely depends on our Vampirism type, but bloodfiends as example are always cold, as far as I am aware. Are you freezing?" Verandis felt my hand, grabbing it slightly. He stayed silent, before placing his whole arm around me, pulling me so close I nearly sat on his lap.

I didn't know whether I wanted to protest, laugh, or say something else, but every word got stuck in my throat anyway. So I just leaned against him, hoping he wouldn't notice my heart fluttering like a scared rabbit. Verandis was warm, his hands resting around my waist. I wondered when the last time had been when I felt like this. It must have been nearly ten years. And for Verandis, it may have even been much longer. In case he also felt the same. My thoughts just wouldn't stay quiet, and again, I couldn't say anything.

"You're so quiet, is everything alright?" Verandis asked, loosening his grip around me, "Please, if you're uncomfortable, you can tell me to stop."   
I quickly answered, turning around and lifting my hands in defense, "No, no, don't stop. I just didn't know what to say. Without being awkward," I added, and Verandis seemed to relax, wrapping his hands around me again. I leaned back against his chest. "I'm actually very comfortable."

"That's good. You just seemed a bit agitated before," Verandis' hands found my own, holding me closer in his embrace. "Hm, your hair smells really good. Something with flowers, right?"

"Oh, yes, I just picked a soap because I had no idea. It was a mix of wildflowers," I confessed, sniffing at a strand of my own hair, "Do you like it?"

"I'd say it's my favorite," Verandis put his nose in my hair again, "I really like it. It suits you."

"That means I have to come here more often and take a bath," I joked, "So I can smell good just for you." I instinctively knew Verandis was smiling, despite me not seeing his face. We both stayed quiet, Verandis rested his head on mine while I closed my eyes, listening to the comfortable silence. 

A sudden movement brought me back from my thoughts. It was dark inside the room, only starlight throwing shadows through the windows. Verandis had picked me up in his arms, still wrapped in the blanket, and carried me out of the room, all the way back to his bedroom, where he carefully put me down on his bed. He sat down next to me and covered me properly with the blanket. Half asleep I blinked at him.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to wake you up," Verandis said, quietly, as if he didn't want to startle me, "You can continue sleeping here. My bed is much more comfortable than the sofa."

I smiled, holding eye contact. "Can you stay?" I asked, blindly searching for his hand, "Please?" 

Verandis squeezed my hand for a second. "I will stay with you," he responded before letting go of my hand. He took off his robe, placing it on a chair, and laid down next to me. I rolled around and curled up against him. Verandis wrapped his arm around me so I could find a comfortable position. He was still so warm. I closed my eyes, feeling safe enough with him, and let sleep slowly take me away.


End file.
